How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Melodies just kind of present themselves, I think I'm far better at writing melodies than I am at lyrics. I just kind of vocalize sounds over the music as its playing, then try and fit words to that.

As for lyrics, I keep a little notebook that I write down stumbled-upon lines and phrases in and then expand from there. Probably 80-90% of them I picked out from reading Stephen King and HP Lovecraft. I couldn't imagine writing lyrics about life and emotions and such, its all ghosts and witchery for me.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Beer$ said:
Why did you delete your t&c threads?
Click to expand...
I did put my reason for deleting them. :)

Not happy w the end result. Will repost when the timbre issue I discovered is taken care of. That in itself is a thread lol. Takeaway: I cannot trust my ears when using headphones. For me it's gotta be monitors all the way!

(Maybe post side by side comparisons ...)
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

TwilightOdyssey said:
I did put my reason for deleting them. :)

Not happy w the end result. Will repost when the timbre issue I discovered is taken care of. That in itself is a thread lol. Takeaway: I cannot trust my ears when using headphones. For me it's gotta be monitors all the way!

(Maybe post side by side comparisons ...)
Click to expand...

I know you put reasons, however you did post two versions of it and had decent replies. There's plenty of old stuff I've posted I don't think is that great anymore and rough/incomplete mixes to get feedback because that's part of what this place is for. I don't see why that alone would make you want to delete them.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I typically write the music first. Occasionally, and I mean really rarely, I'll start writing a song with the intention of adding lyrics later, and that plays a role in determining the structure. I'm really not much of a singer or lyricist, but my collaborator Marc has been coming up with a lot of simple lines for both my songs and the ones we've written together. So what's been happening is he'll try to communicate what he's hearing, and even though he can't really hit the notes, I'll get a very rough sense of how he hears the melody, and basically just try to sing it so it sounds right to me. Sometimes I leave it simple in the spirit of minimalism, but I've also written lyrics by expanding on his ideas, and those have turned out better than when I'm left completely to my own devices. The only way to "cheat" through recording that's worked for me is to break the lyrics into small chunks and harmonize with myself to fill out the sound. I also actively try to project toward the top of my jaw for resonance, and I find that the more relaxed I feel and the less I think about it, the less "forced" it sounds in the end. I also totally agree that headphones can be deceptive!
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

My lyrics make absolutely no sense to anyone but myself, and I'm ok with that. Like my music, its a reflection of me and my thoughts/emotions. I generally write about life... ups/downs etc... but its more of a journal. I'm a weird, observant person and sometimes write down random phrases or things I hear out in public. For example, a fews years back, when my grandpa died(we were very close), I was out having lunch with a friend and heard some old dude a few tables over say "It shows to go"(It goes to show)... it stuck with me. So, randomly I have that phrase thrown in a song I wrote about that time in my life.... see? im a weirdo

As far as melodies go... I try to "think outside the box", and do something different... something you wouldn't expect vocally. I'm sure none of this is any help to you, but I feel you should know I find what you do rather inspiring. You know what you want, and you do it. It took me a while to man up and do it all myself. Keep it up man!
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

SteveAlysis said:
I feel you should know I find what you do rather inspiring. You know what you want, and you do it. It took me a while to man up and do it all myself. Keep it up man!
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Thanks for the kind words!

I record and mix my own stuff because I have a passion for it (and limited funds!).
I write music because I have to. I think my head would implode if I had to stop writing music!
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

You write best about what you know. Don't write what you think someone else either wants or needs to hear. Write what you have to say in the way that you wish to say it. If you can get some others to help you play it, so much the better.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Demanic said:
You write best about what you know.
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There is a grain of truth in that. I am certainly not an expert on Edgar Allen Poe, for example, but that hasn't stopped me from writing two Poe-inspired concept albums! :)

However, researching a subject you are not familiar with is probably a good idea. I wouldn't say researching something means you 'know' it, but it certainly gives you ideas you can crib!
 
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Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

SteveAlysis said:
My lyrics make absolutely no sense to anyone but myself, and I'm ok with that. Like my music, its a reflection of me and my thoughts/emotions. I generally write about life... ups/downs etc... but its more of a journal. I'm a weird, observant person and sometimes write down random phrases or things I hear out in public.

I'm a weirdo.
Click to expand...

None of this sounds weird to me. It sounds like open-source inspiration.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I just play a bunch of short lead phrases over the parts of a song, and make whatever sounds best the vocal melody. Lyrics - either you like to write them (in which case you can do it with ease) or you hate writing them (and it is a real challenge). I just read whatever fancies me for inspiration.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Sometimes I type. Other times I have used ball point pens, but some of my best lyric writing was done with non-mechanical #2 lead pencils. Creativity occasionally demands that you get down to bare essential mode.
 
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Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I haven't read thru the whole thing yet but I will so if I am trampling over something already written I apologize.

Mostly they just sort of present themselves to me which sounds cheap I know but it's true. I am generally under no time restrictions though and I write pretty regularly. I sort of have this internal radio that is just there when I need it. Words are generally the issue, finding that seed that sets me off and ties it all up can be tricky. I often just start with a phrase that feels like it goes with the vibe of the music and then just go with it.

TO you are extraordinarily musical and thoughtful but I would recommend leaving those skills to the editing stage of the process. Let it flow without trying to control it too much. Keep a notebook and voice recorder of some sorts around for on the spot inspiration, put on the tracks and just ad lib then go back and listen for pieces that catch your fancy.

Paul Simon takes the band tracks with no vocals, cranks them up and just riffs vocally over them til he comes up with something that works. He's done alright with that I think.

Once you get a big pile, start putting the pieces together and then edit to make it coherent, musical, etc. I am sure you have some sort of methodology for writing the music it'll probably serve you to do the words in a similar fashion so it feels natural to you.

btw the first Monday of every month out a Five Towns College in Deer Park there is a songwriters workshop that is pretty good, also the Nashville Songwriters Association does something out there once a month as well. All are free to attend, if you're interested in taking a ride out let me know and I will get you more details.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I'm in a Deathcore band, so in order to get a good sense of vocal melody, I just follow some garbage trucks around a few times a week.

As for lyrics, I usually just plagiarize from old Victorian poetry and the textbook from the Law Enforcement class I took in high school. Then I'll work in a few obscure or sometimes cliche action movie quotes.

When playing live, I tend to just say whatever I feel like until the action movie quote parts come. I try to make sure people can understand me when I say those parts. Most of the time anyway.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

TwilightOdyssey said:
Here's a taste of the song I am working on right now, Tempest Suite:

Three
Adrift at sea
We must survive
We must keep ourselves alive
Her sails are drawing near
We reach out for life

She
Death on the sea
He, Death in Life
Not one of her crew survived
Now in death they will ride
For eternity
Click to expand...

Just to follow up on this, here's what the finished product sounds like.

 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Falloffthebonetone said:
I'm in a Deathcore band, so in order to get a good sense of vocal melody, I just follow some garbage trucks around a few times a week.

As for lyrics, I usually just plagiarize from old Victorian poetry and the textbook from the Law Enforcement class I took in high school. Then I'll work in a few obscure or sometimes cliche action movie quotes.

When playing live, I tend to just say whatever I feel like until the action movie quote parts come. I try to make sure people can understand me when I say those parts. Most of the time anyway.
Click to expand...

that is hilarious! thats exactly what I think of when I hear extreme metal cookie monster vocals ;) :banana: :headbang:
 
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